This saves you time by letting you access, share, and collaborate more effectively. Document management capabilities of Microsoft SharePoint let you store documents in Windows SharePoint while organizing and managing these documents from Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

You can protect your stored documents in Windows SharePoint from unauthorized access or use.

Enabling document management on entities

You can manage documents for any or all entities on Windows SharePoint. This is the default selection of entities the first time you click Document Management Settings in the Document Management area:

When you set up document management for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online entities, Windows SharePoint creates document libraries and folders in the context of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online entities and records.

Note

The Documents link under Related appears in an entity record form only after you have set up document management for that entity.

Understanding how document management works

When you set up document management, specify a SharePoint site collection A group of SharePoint sites that are organized hierarchically. A site collection has one top-level site (the parent site) and a number of sub sites (child sites) built within it. or site URL. More information: Sites and site collections overview.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online uses the specified site collection or site to create document libraries for entities and folders for records on Windows SharePoint.

When creating the document libraries and folders automatically on Windows SharePoint, there are document location records created on Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online that point to the newly-created folders.

If you do not want to use the automatic creation feature, manually create document libraries and folders on SharePoint. After the document libraries and folders are created, create document location records in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online that point to the document libraries and folders on SharePoint, and then associate the document location records with the entity records.

After the organization of the content storage is in place, you can start using all the document management capabilities.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online automatically creates document libraries and folders on Windows SharePoint if the URL you specify is for one of the following:

A site collection A group of SharePoint sites that are organized hierarchically. A site collection has one top-level site (the parent site) and a number of sub sites (child sites) built within it. that is on Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 and has the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online List component installed on it.

A site under a site collection that is on Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, and the site collection has the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online List component installed.

If you want automatic creation, choose whether you want Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online to create folders based on the default (generic) structure or based on the entity.

Default structure. A folder is created for each record in the document library for the entity. This is the default folder structure.

For example, you have 100 bikes and 250 bikes opportunity records. These are opportunities for Margie's Travel. Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online creates this folder structure:

../opportunity/100 Bikes.

../opportunity/250 Bikes.

In this structure:

opportunity is the document library.

100 bikes and 250 bikes are opportunity record folders.

Structure based on entity. A folder is created so that folders for primary entities (for which you want to manage documents) and their records are created under the document library for the related entity that you select. To create folders using this structure, select the Based on entity check box and then select an entity from the list (such as Account or Contact).

For example, you have 100 bikes and 250 bikes opportunity records. These opportunities are associated with Margie's Travel as the parent customer. You select Account for the entity. This is the created folder structure:

../account/Margie's Travel/opportunity/100 bikes

../account/Margie's Travel/opportunity/250 bikes

In this structure:

account is the document library.

Margie's Travel is the folder for the related records.

opportunity is the folder for the related opportunity records.

100 bikes and 250 bikes are related opportunity record folders for the main entity.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online creates the document library when you set up document management. However, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online creates the various folders in the document library only when you open a record form and click Documents under Related.